Water Use Efficiency of Different Cotton Cultivars

As competition for limited water resources increases, water use efficiency for agricultural irrigation becomes more important. Increasing water use efficiency (WUE) and drought tolerance in cotton is highly valuable to U.S. and world agriculture. Screening cotton varieties for water use efficiency would help growers to maintain or increase crop production with less water. 

Replicated tests were conducted to determine the water use efficiency of seven cotton cultivars under different irrigation regimes and soil types.  Multi-sensor capacitance probes were used to monitor soil volumetric moisture contents. There were significant differences in lint yields and WUE among the cotton varieties. In addition, WUE was affected by soil texture.